Smoothies have been around since the 1950s when they were sold in smoothie shacks along Venice Beach in California. Today, smoothies have become a staple in many households, everyone has a favorite recipe. And commercial sales are worth about a $1 billion a year.

At our PNE taste test it was a classic battle of east versus west as we took an Ontario product and pitted it against a local BC company.

From the east: Arthur's and from the west:Happy Planet, started by entrepreneur turned politician Gregor Robertson.

For some the taste test was a new experience

"I've never tasted a smoothie in my life!" laughed one woman.

Others were old hands -- and everyone had an opinion.

"A" was the Arthur's Strawberry Rainforest and "B" the Happy Planet Sunset Beach Strawberry. When we tallied the votes it was almost a dead heat:

51 per cent of our volunteers preferred the Aurthur's and 49 percent said the Happy Planet was best.

Some people said they prefer their own.

"They don't taste milky and my smoothies usually taste milky," noted one tester.

Registered dietitian Patricia Chuey with Save-On Foods says there is a major difference between homemade and commercial smoothies.

"Most of the ones you're going to get in a store aren't high enough in protein to count as a meal," she explained.

Homemade smoothies could have up to 10 grams of protein. That's five or ten times as high as many store bought ones; and ready-to-drink smoothies may have a lot of sugar

"Some of these might be as high as ten teaspoons of sugar, even though it is natural sugar from the fruit," Chuey explained.

If you regularly buy smoothies, you are advised watch the calories. Even though they have lots of healthy ingredients, they can pack a high calorie punch.

The advantage of making them yourself is you control all the ingredients and can put in enough protein to make it a meal replacement. Just add in some ice, soy milk or yogurt.

The most popular flavour for smoothies is strawberry banana. But you can find other recipes on the Internet or just invent your own with fresh or frozen fruit.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen.